When she was young, I enjoyed taking my daughter to the playground. As she would run from one ride to the next, my mind would wander to some interesting analogies between the game of golf and children at play.

Her first stop was at the seesaw. The seesaw golf swing is one of the common faults seen among the average golfer: the upper body and lower body seems to slide in opposite directions. This type of rocking motion will produce a high weak slice, shots off the toe of the club, or fat shots.

To stop the seesaw one needs to hop onto the merry-go-round. This is the feeling of good golf. The hips and shoulders turn more level with no up and down rocking. The merry-go-round swing allows the golfer to approach the ball with power from the inside track. Good shots will result.

Next Katie might run to the slide. Now she was illustrating one of the common problems of better golfers. In this one, the lower body slides dramatically toward the target in the downswing, almost running out from under the golfer. In striving for power this golfer becomes unsynchronized. The result is a swing that approaches the ball too much from the inside producing hooks, pushed shots and a lot of thin shots.

Fortunately the cure can be found on the same playground. The slider needs to follow Katie to the swing set. The motion of a child swinging is pure golf – all parts are moving together at the same pace. No slide, no part outracing another.

So the next time you go to the playground (golf course) stay away from the seesaw and slide, hop on the merry-go-round and swing, and have a great game.

Ed Hanczaryk, PGA is a four-time Atlantic Canada Teacher of the Year and was chosen one of the Top 50 golf teachers in Canada. He can be found at The Links at Penn Hills or Ed's Golf Studio, 10 Akerley Blvd., Burnside. Contact him at (902) 450-011, or online at www.awarenessgolf.com.